When a microscope is used to observe a sample, a visual field that is observable at one time is mainly determined by the magnification of an objective lens. A higher magnification of the objective lens allows observation of a more minute structure of the sample but with a narrowed observation range.
Observation of the entire structure of the sample is also needed at the same time. In a known microscope system, or a so-called virtual slide system, including an electric stage or an encoder-equipped stage, a plurality of images are acquired by repeating movement of the stage and image capturing. The acquired images are then patched and combined to generate a wide-field-angle combined image (refer to PTL 1, for example).